Middle Ages Flashcards
Supernatural causes of disease
Alignment of the planets and stars
Consulted star charts
many believe the alignment of the planets caused the Black death
Theory of the four humours
Blood phlegm black bile and yellow bile
All the humans must be balanced or equal
Created by hippocrates
Galen developed it further
Galen’s influence
Galen’s ideas fitted well with that of a church so they promoted his beliefs and teachings
Medical books
Many people couldn’t read so they couldn’t learn about medical ideas
Miasma
Bad Air
A clean home with associated with Spiritual cleanliness
Treatments of disease
Healing prayers and incarnations
Fasting
Consulted star charts
Horoscopes very the treatment
Alignment of the planets
Bloodletting so bad humours could be released from the body
Purging cleared everything dodgy out of the body
Preventing disease
The church:
Lead a life free of Sin
Regular prayer and confession
Hygiene:
Bathing was important
People made their home smell nice
Diet:
Eating too much was discouraged
Purifying the air
Mediaeval physicians
Looked at samples of urine faeces and blood
Consulted astrological charts
Created treatment based on the four humours
Apothecaries
Mainly mixed herbal remedies
When was trained as physicians
Surgeons
Highly trained
Skilled surgeons could set a broken limb removing arrow or even remove cataracts from the eye
Caring for the sick in hospitals
Number of hospitals was on the rise
Many didn’t heal the sick they just providing hospitality for travellers
Good place of rest and recovery
Caring for the sick at home
Most people were treated at home
Women were responsible for treating the sick
The Black death
1348-1349
Causes of the Black death
God deserting mankind
Unusual positioning of the planets
Corruption to the four humours
Miasma
Treatments of the Black death
Confess their sins
Ask for forgiveness
Bleeding and purging
Correct humoral imbalances
Strong herbs
